Strip Down Your Logo and Make Your Brand a Classic—Now!

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Strip Down Your Logo and Make Your Brand a Classic—Now!

It Took Apple 22 years to develop the simple, iconic logo you know and love today. Now tech startups evolve their branding in 22 months, going simpler, faster. From Airbnb to Snapchat, companies are racing to create sleek, name-free logos that are still instantly recognizable. Oh, and now they have to be readable on a 1.5-inch smartwatch. Witness the rapid weight loss.

Airbnb

The company launched as AirBed&Breakfast in 2008, then rebranded as Airbnb, then ditched that logo for the Bélo, which reminds many of an intimate body part.

Simple

When BankSimple shortened its name to Simple in 2011, it also simplified its logo, going from a skeuomorphic wallet to a mathematically generated set of colored rings.

Spotify

Like many startups, Spotify launched with a jangly, collegiate logo. In 2013 the music streaming company simplified it to a green circle encasing three lines, evoking a speaker.

Snapchat

Ghostface Chillah used to have a face. A 2013 update featured him without his mischievous grin. The founders explained: “It’s because you are the face of Snapchat.” Boo.

Netflix

Back when Netflix was a DVD-by-mail service, it had a 3-D shadowed logomark. In 2014, Netflix dropped the third dimension. Minus points for still being the company name.

Dropbox

The file-sharing company has always used a blue cardboard box—you know, “storage.” The box used to appear in 3-D. But in 2013 the company switched to an opaque blue box.

Twitter

Twitter’s first logos were cartoonish. In 2012, it trimmed the feathered monochrome-blue bird’s plumage for a cleaner, simpler silhouette.

PayPal

PayPal has re-launched its identity five times. Designer Yves Béhar worked on the 2014 refresh, introducing the two-tone double P, which fits snugly into a square app button.